Jinn first part

All praise be to Allah, we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness and guidance. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can lead astray, and whomsoever He sends astray none can guide. There is no god but Allah alone, and Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Definition of Jinn

The word Jinn جن)) in Arabic refers to something that is concealed and hidden. Al-Jawhari[1] said: Al-Jaan الجان is the father of the jinn, the plural of which is Jeenaan الجينان.

It says in the Qamoos Al-Muheet: جناه الليل Junahu Al-Laya means the night covered him. Everything that is concealed from you is junna Anka جنة عنك (concealed from you).

It says in Lisanul Arab: جنان Janan means to cover or conceal. Everything that is concealed from you is junna جنة عنك (concealed from you).

Abu Umar ibn Abdul Barr said: according to the scholar of Arabic language, there are different categories or names of the jinn.

When they mention the jinn in general terms, they use the word jinni جني. .

If the jinni is one of those who live in houses with people, they call him Aamir عامر (dweller) the popular of which is Ummar عمار.

If the jinn is one of those who interact with children, they call them Arwaah أرواح (spirits).

If the jinn is wicked then he is a shaytan شيطان و شياطين(devil)

If he is worse than that, they call him Maarid مارد (demon)

If he is worse than that and is strong, they call him Ifreet عفريت the plural of which is Afareet.

There are three types of jinn: one that flies through the air, one that are snakes and dogs, and one which stay in places and travel about.. Imam Al-Hakem in his Mustarak.

What are the jinn?

The Jinn are a world of their own, different from that of the humans or the angels. They do, common with humans, such as they also have the ability to however, possess some characteristics in the ability to think and reflect. Similarly, choose between the path of good and the path of evil in the same manner as humans. They, though, differ from humans in other characteristics, including one very important characteristic:

Their origin

They are called jinn, because they are obscured (concealed) from human sight. Allah says in Surat Al-A’araf 27:

إِنَّهُ يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ.

For he and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them. He sees you he and his tribe, from whence you see him not.

Allah has informed us that the jinn have been created from fire as He says in the Qur’an, Surat Hijr 27:

وَالْجَانَّ خَلَقْنَاهُ مِن قَبْلُ مِن نَّارِ السَّمُومِ.

And the Jinn race, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind. And the jinn We created before from scorching fire. And Allah said in Surat Ar-Rahmaan 15:

وَخَلَقَ الْجَانَّ مِن مَّارِجٍ مِّن نَّارٍ.

And He created Jinns from fire free of smoke, And He created the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire.

According to Ibn Abbaas, Ikrimah, Mujaahid, Al-Hasan and others the meaning of marajin-min-nar مَّارِجٍ مِّن نَّارٍ, is the extremity of the flame,. And in one narration it is described as the purest and best (of fire). Imam An-Nawawi said in his commentary to Sahih Muslim, The smokeless flame of fire is that mixed with the blackness of the fire. In a hadith recorded by Muslim on the authority of Aisha, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

And We did certainly create man out of clay from an altered black mud. And the jinn We created before from scorching fire.

Some of the earlier scholars were of the opinion that they were created a thousand years before mankind, but for that statement they have no proof in either the Quran or the Sunnah.

There is no room for the denial of the existence of the jinn

A small number of people absolutely deny the existence another being known as jinn. Some of the polytheists claimed that of the meaning of jinn were the souls of the planets.

Some of the philosophers claim that the jinn are the evil inclinations in the souls of mankind in the same way that the angels are the inclination for good in the souls of mankind.

Some of the modern-day people allege that the jinn are the bacteria and microbes that modern science has recently discovered.

Not possessing knowledge concerning them is not a type of proof

The most that these deniers can say is that they have no knowledge concerning their existence. But not having any knowledge about them is not a proof that they do not exist… The mind that denies everything that it does not know of certainly is blameworthy. In fact, that is a reason why Allah blames the unbelievers. Allah says in the Qur’an in Surat Yunus 39:

Say, [O Muhammad], “It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said, ‘Indeed, we have heard an amazing Qur’an. It gives guidance to the Right, and we have believed therein: we shall not join (in worship) any (gods) with our Lord. In same Surah Al-Jinn 6:

And that persons from among men used to seek refuge with persons from among jinn, so they increased them in wrongdoing: or : And there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the jinn, so they [only] increased them in burden.

Eyewitness Accounts

Many people of our times and of the previous times have witnessed something of the jinn, even though many who had seen them or who had heard them were not aware that they were jinn. They thought that they were ghosts, spirits, invisible men, creatures from outer space and so forth.

Donkeys and Dogs see the jinn

Even though we humans do not see the jinn, some animals, like dogs and donkeys, can see them. It is recorded in Musnad of Ahmad and Sunan Abu Dawud with a sahih chain from Jabir bin Abdullah that the Prophet said:

If you hear the bark of dogs or the braying of donkeys during the night, seek refuge in Allah from Satan, as they see what you do not see.

This is not strange as many scientists have confirmed that animals are capable of many things that humans are not capable of. Bees can see ultraviolet light and can also see the sun on an overcast day. An owl can see a mouse running in a crowded corn patch on a dark night.